Noise | Short Film Nominee

Short Film of the Day July 18, 2020

Noise

By Julian Lucas with 7.2

drama · Short Films · english

From online workouts with chirpy fitness instructors to music that would have once uplifted your spirits, from the overwhelming deluge of news, content, celebrities' two-pence on the health crisis that has followed in the wake of a pandemic, to political figures accepting or denying it - the conversation around the coronavirus is endless. The film is a portrayal of how the protagonist gets sucked into this vortex, it's pull strengthened by the emotional as well as the physical isolation she is already grappling with in an empty house with only voices on screens as a companion.

The grainy, dimly-lit visuals further serve to communicate a sense of remoteness and aloofness as we find ourselves emotionally, more than physically, distanced from one another. At first glance, the film is about no more than a woman's emotional health spiralling into chaos. However, the narrative is perhaps also about the quest for some semblance of control, as false as it might be, coming from washing your hands obsessively or dancing around in your bathroom, dressed up in bling and shimmer, perhaps allowing yourself to forget, even if just for a fleeting moment, that a pandemic has not brought the world down to its knees. This when coupled with beautiful shots and a seamless edit, translates the protagonist's thoughts and internal state of being to the screen with an honesty and truth that will ring loud and clear with several viewers.

And yet, look closer, and there is another important concern the film engages with - one about the ubiquitous nature of technology when it comes to human existence. It's infestation in our day-to-day lives is a deeply internalised and normalised reality. However it's presence acquires a herculean proportion when we are removed from human contact. As the voices continue on our several gadgets, soon devolving into a cacophony, the noise breaks the silence with an overwhelming, immensely disorienting force, suggests the narrative. Will this pull the protagonist deeper, to a place of no return, along with the viewer, or would it finally allow her a respite, a moment of complete abandon away from it all?
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